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Caribbean hoops camp at UWISPEC

Talented basketballers from here and across the region will be at the University of the West Indies Sport and Physical Education Centre (UWISPEC) in St Augustine this weekend, to showcase their skills hoping to get noticed by scouts at the College Exposure Camp hosted by Caribbean Hoops.

Now in its fourth year, the three-day camp according to coordinator Mario Davis, the aim is to provide young basketball players in the Caribbean the opportunity to be recruited by international college coaches and scouts.

Davis said, "The camp is used to provide exposure to local players as well as in the region. We sent out invitations to the different basketball federations and they in turn recommend and send players. This year, Suriname has eight players at the camp."

This edition will see some 36 basketballers (boys and girls) bring their "game" looking to become student-athletes or even pursue a professional career in the sport.

Privy to see the local and regional talents in action are Jeff Dolan from JUCO Advocate Scouting Service, Wes Hinton from Next Up Recruits scouting service and coach Marcus King from Lee College will be attending.

"On Friday will be the skills assessment phase which will start at 10 am and will be run by The Lab Skills Elite coaches Johnathan Weekes, Stefan Dillon and Duane Virgil with assistance from Atiba De Leon of Tobago," said Davis.

The camp will offer a high level of coaching and personal instruction, exposure to different styles of play, evaluation and feedback on skill level and suggestions for improvement.

The following day's activities start at 1 pm with players competing in matches to display their skills in shooting, rebounding, passing and dribbling as well as their basketball "IQ", so too on Sunday, starting at 10 am.

Participation in the exposure camp increases the likelihood of players earning scholarships to further their tertiary education as well as develop their basketball skill at the next level.

Over the years, some 20 basketballers have had their dreams realised including, in recent times, Tyrik Singh, who is at Daytona State College in Florida and Kadeem Grieg, who is at Ridgeview Prep in North Carolina.